“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”
― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Today I'm Sitting On The Fence.

Yes. This is pretty early for me to be posting about what I did today. But I just found out one of my friends has the chicken pox at her house. Three of her kids have it. Now, it's possible that we were all exposed at church. But, maybe not. It is Thursday after all and I haven't seen anything on my kids.

I had the chicken pox when I was 7 or 8. My husband had it as a child too. As a matter of fact, my mother-in-law put Tony in a bath with another kid so that he would catch the chicken pox from them. It worked.

My dilemma. Should I expose my babies now, or not? I do NOT want to have to give them the vaccine ever. But, both my girls have eczema and when they scratch they will often draw blood. I'm just seeing broken skin all over if they were to have itchy chicken pox. So - that is what I'm most worried about. Open sores with a higher chance of bacterial infection. BUT - like I said, avoiding that vaccine is a VERY high priority since severe reactions to vaccinations runs in my family.

I am totally on the fence about this right now. I'm pretty sure that Hubster will be all for having a Chicken Pox Party. It worked for him, right? But still. Poor itchy-scratchy babies! And they're so little!

I'd just really love opinions right now. Not judgment, just what you would do and why. Thanks!

*UPDATE: I've decided that 7 & 8 is a great age to have the chicken pox. Surprisingly, Hubster is on the same page. I mean, he's all for the Chicken Pox Parties, but not until the girls are older. I'm still interested in your thoughts on the subject though.

Oh my gosh, I have eczema too. I've had it my whole life. Had it all over the place as a little girl and I would scratch until I bled. It still itches like crap even now.

I FEEL your pain. Big time.

I had the chicken pox when I was four, WITH the eczema. If you want, you can ask my mom what she did cuz I don't remember much. You can find a link to her blog on my blog. She's the one under the Merry Misadventures of a Matriarchal Madwoman.

Oh, and what's worse? When I had chicken pox, I also had head lice. No lie.

I don't think you can force it. Having said that, my opinion would be to get it out of the way. They've technically got to get it at some point. And at least this way you'd be prepared and well stocked with bicarb & calamine lotion.All 3 of mine have had it, all in the space of 2 weeks. And Baylie (2 at the time) was the one who moaned the least!

I would wait until they were a little older to fully understand it. I got them when I was in kindergarten and gave them to both of my older brothers. My oldest brother was in high school and was not happy about it!